Many were open mouthed in shock. Nobody said a word. They waited for the good news, as they expected there must be some.
"If one of those options is favourable to you, I suggest you do it now!" he shouted, "Where I am going is right to hell, and I am dragging every one of those sons of bitches with me that I can manage. This isn't survival. This is revenge. This is payback. Will you die as sheep, or will you die as warriors? There are no rules any longer. If you follow me now, you know there is no line I will not cross. No sacrifice I will not make. I will do anything and everything in my power to make those alien bastards pay for what they have done to us. Who's with me?"
There was silence for a moment. It was a grim prospect, and he knew it. But he also knew their hatred of the aliens was all that could fuel them any longer.
"I am!" Doyle finally answered him.
Doyle had always been a quiet and reserved young man, but this was the day he changed. This had been the day he showed Kelly the way and now stood by him for all to see. Kelly nodded in appreciation.
"We never got the payback we deserved for what they did to us on our own colony. Now is our chance!" Kelly spoke to them all.
The crowd suddenly erupted into a frenzy of excitement, shouting and whistling in support. It was utter commitment and devotion to the destruction of everything they knew and loved, and it was the only way. But as they shouted in support, a pulse smashed into the group and killed two instantly. Before they could respond, two Mech fighters soared overhead and strafed their position, causing people to scatter for cover.
"Load up and follow me!" Kelly shouted.
He jumped from the truck and went to open the driver's door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked around to see Doyle.
"Sir, on me!"
It was a surprise but his newfound confidence in the man compelled him to do so. Doyle rushed over to one of the trucks he had acquired. It was a military vehicle with canvas covering on the back. He leapt up onto the rear bed, but Kelly could not understand why. As the Commander took the corner to the rear and could see inside, he understood. Doyle was fighting to pull back the canvas cover because inside was a twelve barrelled anti-aircraft gun he had taken from the airfield.
"Christ, how'd you get this thing in here?"
"Forklift truck, thought it would come in handy. Help me get this off!"
Doyle had become a different man with this new conflict, and Kelly was as surprised as he was grateful. He climbed up into the back of the vehicle, took the other side of the canvas, and started tugging it back as the fighters strafed them once again. One pulse hit the front cab of the truck and tore the roof off.
"Christ!" Kelly screamed.
With one last pull the canvas slid back, and Kelly leapt into the control seat of the gun system. He'd never used one before but had watched others do so. He hit the power button, and the engine inside fired up, giving him full control of tilt and elevation. He turned to the targeting computer. It was fizzling where a shard of metal from the front cab had embedded in it.
"Shit!"
"You'll have to fire on open sights!" Doyle yelled, "And fast, they're coming in for another run!"
Kelly turned the guns around quickly with the foot controls and took aim as the fighter came in low and opened fire. He squeezed the trigger, and all the guns burst into life in a deafening volley. The muzzle flashes blurred out most of Kelly's sight, but he could see something explode before him. The debris veered off and crashed into one of the nearby houses.
"Woohoo!" Doyle shouted, "Hell of a shot!"
Kelly could barely hear him as his eardrums were still pulsating, and he was almost deaf. They watched as the other fighter banked quickly and fled rapidly.
"You did it!" Doyle exclaimed.
Kelly got up to look around at the devastation. His house was riddled with damage, and a dozen people lay dead in the road, with several other wounded screaming in pain.
"Not soon enough," he replied.
His truck was amazingly still intact and had sustained no further damage.
Many of those who had got to ground or cover got up and looked to Kelly for orders.
"We can't stay here. The town will be crawling with Mechs within a few hours after they hear about this. Gather the wounded. Leave the dead!"
None of them wanted to hear it, but they knew it was necessary.
"Load up and let's move!"
Kelly raced towards his truck, picking up one of the wounded along the way and helping them into the back of his vehicle.
"Reynolds, you're with me!"
The two of them climbed into the front of his vehicle. They waited, watching the rest of their people embark on dozens of vehicles along the road.
"Captain, with Morris gone, you're my right hand man now, you do realise that?"
"If you will have me."
"Good man. I need to know you are with me one hundred percent. The time for compromise is over. Are you with me until the end?"
"Yes, and let it be far from now, so that we can kill as many of those fuckers as possible before our time comes."
Kelly nodded in agreement. Knowing their chance of survival was gone had given them a new resolve. They feared the enemy far less now knowing their fate was sealed.
* * *
Taylor sat around a conference table with twenty representatives of Earth, who now stood together in an attempt to create a new government. Huber had placed him at the centre, opposite them all in a crescent. He had agreed to help, but never did he expect he would be placed as a figurehead to take all the fire that would come Huber’s way.
Shit, he thought.
The fresh and invigorating feeling he had awoken with was being sapped away from him as each second passed. General Dupont sat on one of the flanks with another officer he did not recognise. Huber was by Taylor’s side, positioned so it appeared as though Taylor stood as his right hand.
Bletchley had led the conversation so far and barely let another person get a word in. He carried on.
“The fact remains, we must establish a workable government for us to continue operating as a society. In time we will have elections, but we need a government now. We need…”
“We get what you are saying Deputy Prime Minister,” Huber interrupted, “We got it the first, second, and third time. You want to establish a civilian government then do so. But understand, that while you remain under the protection of the fleet, you will submit to the authority of the Navy. I will not have military decisions compromised by a civilian authority.”
“Is that what you will have, Admiral, a military regime with a puppet civilian one? Is this the sort of democracy we fought for?”
“I’m not aware you fought for anything, Mr Bletchley.”
“I played my part throughout this conflict, the same as you.”
“Sat behind a desk while my people…”
“Enough!” Dupont shouted.
The room was silenced and all looked to the Frenchman.
“We aren’t making any progress here, and we’re not going to if we go on. We have bigger things to worry about than this petty infighting.”
“Then what do you suggest we do? We need some resolution to this before there is chaos amongst our people,” replied Bletchley.